Can a Computer Judge Creativity?

It may go against all we believe about art and aesthetics, but two Rutgers University computer scientiests, Ahmed Elgammal and Babak Saleh, say they have created an algorithm that measures the originality and influence of artworks by using sophisticated visual analysis to compare each piece to older and newer artwork. They worked from the premise that the most creative art was that which broke most from the past, and then inspired the greatest visual shifts in the works that followed.

Whether you agree or disagree with the method, the results are quite fascinating — take a look at this article on Quartz.